"A home in the physical world." Or, to use the Hebrew-kabbalistic term,
dirah b'tachtonim. "This," say the chassidic masters, "is what man is all
about; this is the purpose of man's creation, and of the creation of all the
worlds, supernal and terrestrial: to make for G-d a dwelling in the lower
realms."
What does it mean to make a home for G-d in our world? Isn't He here already?
And how is this home made? The concept of dirah b'tachtonim addresses the
most basic questions of existence: What is our world? What is matter and
physicality? What is holiness? What does G-d want of us? Why are we here?
Dirah b'tachtonim is the central theme in hundreds of chassidic works,
particularly in the Lubavitcher Rebbe's teachings, which translate this
seemingly abstract concept into a cohesive system and approach to meaningful
living.
Over the years, Chabad.org has published numerous essays, concept pieces and
stories -- all deriving from the Rebbe's teachings -- that explain this system
and approach. This week -- the week in which we read of the Divine request,
"They shall make for Me a dwelling, and I will dwell amidst them" (Exodus 25:8)
-- we assembled a selection of twenty-three such articles, linked below:
The concept:
Home
The Abnormality of Jewish Life
Creation:
The Object
The Schoolteachers of Beshenkovitz
The Lunar Files
Patriarchs and Sages:
Bachelors in Heaven
Home of Stone
Gangs of Angels
The River and the Pitcher
Nourishment
Seventy Kopecs
Sinai:
The Breakthrough
Oxen and Cows
The Sinai Files
Ladies First
The Tabernacle:
The World a Home
The Anatomy of a Dwelling
Why It's Frustrating Having a Brain
The Glory of the Single-Minded Person
In Sum:
Where the Essence Dwells
What is the Purpose of Existence?
The Physical World According to Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi
The Discovery of Planet Earth
See Also: The Holy Temple: an Anthology
and Moshiach: an Anthology
The articles in this collection were written by Yanki Tauber, Tzvi Freeman, Yaakov Brawer and Lazer Gurkow
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